8, 9. (a) Who entered into the Most Holy of the earthly temple, and to do what? (b) What does Hebrews 9:1, 24-28 say regarding the services of Jesus Christ as a spiritual High Priest?

⁸ In ancient Jerusalem before its destruction by the Babylonians the Jewish high priest presented the blood of the Atonement Day sacrifices every year on Tishri 10, sprinkling the blood before the golden mercy seat upon which were carved two golden cherubs, above whom the Shekinah light appeared, to represent the invisible presence of Jehovah there. (Ex 25:17-22; Lev. 16:11-17; Num. 7:89; 1 Sam. 4:4; 2 Sam. 6:2) On the other hand, Jesus Christ was not a Levite priest of the family of Aaron and did not enter into the Most Holy of the earthly, mundane temple at Jerusalem. So as regards his service as Jehovah’s spiritual High Priest we read:

⁹ “Christ entered, not into a holy place made with hands, which is a copy of the reality, but into heaven itself, now to appear before the person of God for us. . . . But now he has manifested himself once for all time at the conclusion of the systems of things to put sin away through the sacrifice of himself. . . . so also the Christ was offered once for all time to bear the sins of many.”​—Heb. 9:1, 24-28.

13. According to the testimony of 1 Peter 3:18, what kind of resurrection did Jesus have, and who are to share with him in that kind of resurrection?

¹³ That Jesus Christ was resurrected as a spirit creature because of having laid down his human life as a sacrifice in order to pass beyond the “curtain, that is, his flesh,” the apostle Peter testifies, writing: “Why, even Christ died once for all time concerning sins, a righteous person for unrighteous ones, that he might lead you to God, he being put to death in the flesh, but being made alive in the spirit.” (1 Pet. 3:18) Thus he left his flesh forever behind and ascended to heaven with the “blood,” that is, the value of his perfect human sacrifice. There, as a High Priest, he presented that ransoming merit before the person of God, hence in the antitypical Most Holy. All his dedicated, baptized footstep followers, those begotten with God’s spirit and anointed with God’s spirit, have the hope of sharing in Jesus’ resurrection and joining him in the spirit heavens as heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ.​—Rom. 8:14-17.